Sequels are well known for trying to repeat their predecessor’s formula, but Happy Death Day 2U takes this a step further by using the original film’s Groundhog Day loop premise and actually repeating the same day, again, on loop. That’s literally the definition of insanity, so how the hell does this seemingly uninspired sequel not only make it work but improve upon nearly every aspect of the original?
Minor Spoilers Ahead: For one, Happy Death Day 2U adds a sci-fi element to its horror-comedy premise (to the point where the horror aspect has nearly vanished)—having the source of Tree’s (Jessica Rothe) original time loop be an experimental quantum reactor several college students created for their school project. It’s a campy concept that works just fine within this campy-loving film. Throw in a multiverse theory where Tree is sent, once again, into a time loop on her birthday, only in a different dimension with alternate realities of friends, family, enemies, and a new killer, and the sequel has recycled an entertainingly fresh premise from essentially the same plot.
With these new aspects thrown into the familiar birthday, Happy Death Day 2U finds many new ways of getting laughs in, to the point where it’s actually funnier and wackier than the original. In one scene, Tree has to memorize a butt-load of formulas for the reactor that she gradually learns over each looping day. Rather than let the killer repeatedly end her life, Tree decides to end it herself as it will be a lot less stressful. Cue to Tree killing herself in the most over-the-top, hilariously gruesome ways possible for no reason other than boredom from mediocre deaths (by this point, she’s basically desensitized to her own demise). Drinking bleach, jumping into a freaking wood chipper, sky diving in nothing but her underwear right over her other-dimension boyfriend Carter (Israel Broussard)—who in this dimension is dating her sorority leader Danielle (Rachel Matthews)—to slow-motion flip the bird and splatter right in front of them. It’s in how unapologetically gratuitous and over-the-top these scenes are that they end up being humorously entertaining as a result.
Happy Death Day 2U’s highlight aspect, however, that raises it above the original is in its emotional potency. Yes, the campy film where a half-naked woman gruesomely kills herself to spite her other dimension boyfriend actually has some surprisingly well-written drama and predicaments. In the alternate universe Tree’s mom is alive and well, forming Tree’s main conflict of whether to go back to her own dimension or stay put. The concept has been done before many times in other pieces of fiction, but I cannot recall seeing the usage of alternate universe memories done like it is here.
Tree has no recollection of this version’s time with her mom here—no memories of the many years they’ve spent together. In one scene, her mom reminisces about a great bonding moment between them, and Tree, unable to recollect such event, can only state “These aren’t my memories…” Memories with family and friends are extremely important as ways to form bonds. If an alternate self of me who had lost his dad early in his childhood ended up in my reality, he’d end up having a hollow relationship with my dad—having missed all the important life-shaping events that built up to the loving bond my dad and I have now. It’s an aspect I have never seen brought up in stories where characters spend time with alternate realities of characters who died, and I have no idea why because it’s a very interesting, sensible concept.
Happy Death Day 2U one notably weak area is its killer (just like in the first film). There was so much more potential with who the murderer could be, yet the reveal and pay off is weak and uninspiring. Everything else, however, is an improvement. The sequel takes the original’s fairly effective concept and alternates it just enough to make it fresh. It’s funnier, more potent, actually builds upon the previous film’s characterization, and is more entertaining and enjoyable overall.
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